Conspiracy / The Beginning of the Battle

"But! That old bastard Shihoin Seigen's daughter really is lucky! She actually managed to pick up someone with Captain-level potential right off the street!"

"And Shigekuni Yamamoto even took him in as his personal disciple! Have you thought about it? If we let this Fujiwara Genshin reach his full potential, the Shihoin Clan will effectively have a say in two divisions in the future!"

"That kind of imbalance will inevitably cause the vassal nobles under our Tsunayashiro Clan to waver like mad! So this is no longer a question of whether it's worth it. We must! We must strangle this budding monster in the cradle!"

Hearing the old man's voice grow increasingly hysterical, the black-clad man kneeling on the floor sucked in a sharp breath and hurriedly offered a sycophantic compliment on the old man's foresight.

But he still asked worriedly, "My lord, if we assassinate Captain-Commander Yamamoto's disciple in the World of the Living and our plan is exposed, his wrath..."

"Exposed?"

The Tsunayashiro Clan elder seated at the head of the room gave an exceptionally cruel smile, a poisonous gleam flickering in his murky eyes:

"In the World of the Living, where Hollows run rampant, a group of fledglings who haven't even graduated unexpectedly encounter a high-level Menos Grande and are tragically wiped out... That would be nothing more than a lamentable tragedy. What would it have to do with our Tsunayashiro Clan?"

The old man leaned back in his chair, his voice fading completely into the darkness of the secret room:

"Besides, dead men never tell secrets."

"Yes, my lord."

Chapter 21: Conspiracy

At the lead instructor's command, the squads set off for their assigned locations, each led by its supervising instructor.

However, instructors were in short supply, and there was usually little danger, so one instructor generally had to look after two or three groups of students.

But that only applied to ordinary students. What kind of monsters were in Xuanxin's group? How could they be treated like an ordinary squad?

Leaving aside Yoruichi's status as the next head of the Shihoin Clan, a rare research talent like Kisuke Urahara alone was enough for the academy to assign the group an instructor of their own to keep them safe.

For a while at first, things went fairly normally.

Although the World of the Living was not as prosperous now as it would be in later years, they could still find a few wandering souls and help the three rack up some "numbers." Under the lead instructor's watch, each of them successfully performed Soul Burial several times.

Before long, the three had cleared the wandering souls from the area and prepared to move on to the next.

Just then, a Hell Butterfly flew over from the distance and landed precisely on the lead instructor's fingertip.

The instructor looked at the Hell Butterfly on his hand, a puzzled expression on his face, then closed his eyes and began reading the message it carried.

Suddenly, the instructor's eyes snapped open, and he hurriedly turned to the three of them.

"I just received a request for help from another squad. A student there has had an accident, so I need to go and see. Explore on your own for now, but don't go too fast. I'll be back soon!"

Without giving the three a chance to ask questions, the instructor used Shunpo and became an afterimage, racing off in another direction.

But was that really what had happened?

After the hurried-looking instructor had put some distance between himself and the three, he stopped.

He glanced around to make sure no one had followed him. The anxiety vanished from his face in an instant, replaced by a twisted sneer.

He carefully reached inside his clothes and pulled out two medicine bottles wrapped in talismans.

Then he muttered to himself, "Sorry, geniuses. Don't blame me. Who told you to stand in Lord Tsunayashiro's way?"

Without a moment's hesitation, he raised one of the bottles high and smashed it against the ground.

Crash! The liquid in the glass bottle quickly evaporated into a cloud of purple smoke! A barely perceptible scent spread in every direction!

"Roar—!!!"

Before long, the roars of Hollows began to sound around the barren clearing. The Hollows wandering nearby gradually converged, like sharks that had caught the scent of blood.

Yet despite the growing chorus of roars around him, the instructor showed no sign of panic.

He calmly downed the other bottle of medicine without hesitation, and a miraculous scene soon unfolded.

The moment he drank it, the fluctuations of his Reiatsu vanished, replaced by a different, strange fluctuation. A nauseating stench also began to emanate from him.

The Hollows that had been eyeing him hungrily all swerved around him in disgust, as though they had encountered something repulsive, and continued charging ahead with red eyes.

Seeing their reaction, the instructor finally relaxed.

He had originally been nothing more than the illegitimate son of a minor noble family serving the Tsunayashiro Clan. Let alone the head of the Tsunayashiro Clan, he had not even been qualified to meet the head of his own family.

But a few days ago, the Tsunayashiro Clan's grand elder had received him in person and even promised him personally that, as long as he pulled this off, he could cast aside his status as an illegitimate son and even be granted the Tsunayashiro name.

Then he could openly enter the noble circles he both despised and longed for so desperately.

"Power... status... They'll all be mine soon. Let's see who can bully me then..."

While he was still lost in fantasies of his future, the ground behind him suddenly trembled.

Then an enormous shadow fell over him.

He whipped around, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints!

It was a gigantic Hollow! Even the mask on its face had begun to change shape. It looked to be just one step away from transforming into a Gillian!

The Hollow lowered its head, brought it close to him, and sniffed hard. Then the monster turned its head and looked around, seemingly searching for something.

Seeing this, the instructor swallowed, a rush of relief at having escaped death washing over him. He hurriedly turned around, eager to get away from this dangerous place.

But the instant he turned...

A savage red light suddenly flashed in the eyes of the Hollow, which had already turned its head away.

The monster's gaping, fang-filled maw snapped open. Moving at a terrifying speed completely at odds with its enormous size, it clamped down on the instructor's entire upper body!

"Crack!"

The grating sound of bones breaking echoed across the empty wilderness. Right up until his death, the instructor was still dreaming his beautiful dream. He had never imagined that he was merely a disposable pawn in Tsunayashiro's hands.

Indeed, just as the elder had said, only dead men would never reveal secrets.

Meanwhile, elsewhere

Xuanxin, Yoruichi, and Urahara were advancing slowly according to the prescribed plan.

But gradually, Kisuke Urahara, who usually acted as though he didn't care about anything, grew uncharacteristically serious, his brows drawing together.

Xuanxin, who had been bringing up the rear, also noticed that something was wrong. He warily surveyed the silent surroundings, then stopped and spoke to Kisuke Urahara.

"Urahara, something's off about this place."

"Yeah, looks like you noticed too." Kisuke Urahara, who had been leading the way, stopped and looked at Xuanxin.

"Yes. This area is far too quiet. Forget ordinary Hollows, we haven't even encountered a Plus. It's too abnormal."

Yoruichi had also noticed that something was wrong. The three exchanged looks and saw the answer in one another's eyes.

Given the situation, someone was probably pulling strings behind the scenes, and the three of them were very likely the targets. Although the banquet that night had fended off most of their troubles, it seemed someone still hadn't given up.

"I think we should retreat immediately and return to the Senkaimon!" Xuanxin said decisively to Yoruichi and Kisuke Urahara.

"That's right. We should retreat now." The three then turned around, preparing to go back the way they had come.

But just as they were about to leave, a faint rustling suddenly came from the grass. Twisted figures wearing deathly pale bone masks emerged from the grass on all sides like a tide.

Faced with the sudden encirclement of monsters, Xuanxin showed no trace of panic.

Xuanxin casually drew his Zanpakuto from his waist and held it in his hand as he calmly told the other two:

"Prepare to fight."

Chapter 22: The Beginning of the Battle

Before long, more and more roars came from all around.

The horde of Hollows surged like a breached flood, their fang-filled maws wide open as they lunged from every direction at the three surrounded in the center!

But the sight did not shake the three of them.

Yoruichi and Xuanxin charged into the horde. Soon, the Hollows' severed limbs were flying, then turning into Reishi that filled the sky and returned to the world.

By then, Kisuke Urahara had already finished his chant, and Xuanxin and Yoruichi withdrew on their own without needing him to warn them.

As soon as the two pulled out of the horde, a fireball struck its center.

"Tsk, that blond guy's Kidō really is good. If his brain weren't even better, I'd want to recommend him for the Kidō Corps."

"...Actually, we still could. Once he finishes the two projects he's working on, there'll still be time to bundle him up and toss him to the Kidō Corps. We can squeeze some more value out of him."

Xuanxin added this in all seriousness beside Yoruichi. Hearing the two of them plotting loudly, Kisuke Urahara couldn't help protesting:

"Hey, hey!! Is that any way to talk? I'm still right here, and you two already want to throw me away once you're done with me?!"

"Hmm, you heard wrong. I didn't say anything," Xuanxin said with certainty.

Looking at Xuanxin, Kisuke Urahara felt his "black-bellied" side for the first time.

Though he kept grumbling about the two of them, he was still happy for Xuanxin, because Xuanxin was becoming more like a living person, even if he had grown a little crooked.

As the three teased one another, more and more Hollows began to pour in from every direction.

Watching the Hollows appear one after another, Kisuke Urahara frowned and said, "This isn't right. This isn't normal. I'm afraid someone has set us up."

Yoruichi nodded, then kicked a lunging Hollow flying and said, "You're right. This isn't normal, and there are more and more Hollows. We need to retreat quickly."

Hearing that, Kisuke Urahara began chanting Kidō again, while Xuanxin swapped [Shingon] and [Mumyō].

As another Sōkatsui fell into the horde of monsters, Xuanxin charged to the very front of the Hollows. He then swept [Shingon] along the ground, and an enormous semicircular screen of light appeared out of nowhere.

Kisuke Urahara narrowed his eyes. "That's... Enkōsen? How did you do that? Can Bakudō be used like that?"

Seeing Kisuke Urahara's sudden surge of research interest, Xuanxin hurriedly cut him off. "All right, stop studying it. Once you've figured out those two projects you're working on, I'll let you study it all you want."

With that, he and Yoruichi flanked Kisuke Urahara, one on either side, and retreated toward the Senkaimon.

On the way, they gradually ran into several other squads.

Those squads were equally battered. Clearly, they too had encountered the abnormal horde of Hollows.

When Xuanxin joined up with the squads and retreated with them to the clearing in front of the Senkaimon, they found...

A few students were already sitting scattered across the clearing. An inexplicable gloom hung over them, while the lead instructors stood before the Senkaimon, sweating profusely as they fiddled with something.

After a few brief questions, Xuanxin and the others received some devastating news.

Something had affected the Senkaimon. Not only could they no longer use it to return to Soul Society, they couldn't even use it to contact Soul Society.

"How could this happen... If the gate won't open, aren't we all going to die here?!"

"I don't want to die... I haven't even graduated yet!"

The students who had escaped back with Xuanxin and the other two were devastated. Some of the less strong-willed among them collapsed to the ground, covered their faces, and wept in self-pity.

Hearing the lamentations behind her, Yoruichi, already upset, was instantly consumed by anger.

"All of you, shut up! Cry, cry, cry... What good will crying do?! Do you think you can fix the Senkaimon just by crying at it?! Have you forgotten everything you've learned all these years?! From now on, if anyone cries again, I'll chop them up myself!!"

Yoruichi spun around, displaying the authority of the future head of the Shihoin Clan, and forcibly silenced every complaint and sob.

With Yoruichi keeping them in line, the students, who had briefly vented their emotions, came back to their senses.